Clinical Significance of Intraperitoneal Free Cancer Cells in Prognosis and Treatment of Gastric Cacner

ABSTRACT

Peritoneal lavage cytology was performed at the time of gastrectomy for 295 patients with gastric cancer from September 1991 to January 1996 in the Department of Medical Sciences,Chonbuk National University Graduate School. The results were as follows;1) Positive intraperitoneal free cancer cells were observed in 9.8% of all case. And,the higher the S-category, the higher the increase in positive intraperitoneal free cancer cells, but the lower the rate of survival. 2) The higher the spatial extent of the invasion of the gastric serosa,the higher the increase in the positive intraperitoneal free cancer cells. However, There was no statiscal relation between the areas of gastric serosa invasion and the 3-year survival rate. But, especially when the areas of serosa invasion are 5-10cm2, the 3-year survival rate was statiscally higher in the negative intraperitoneal free cancer cell group than in the positive free cancer cell group.(P<0.012). 3) The rate of positive intraperitoneal free cancer cells become higher progressively with increasing the peritoneal invasion, but, there were no 3-year survival patients who have positive peritoneal invasion . In patients with no evidence of peritoneal spread, negative intraperitoneal free cancer cell group had a statistically signigficant higher 3-year survival rate than the positive group.(P<0.0004). 4) For histopathological types of tumors, the incidence of positive intraperitoneal free cancer cells was higher in undifferentiated adenocarcinomas than in differentiated types, though the difference was statistically insignificant. For signet-ring cell carcinomas, the 3-year survival rate of the negative intraperitoneal free cancer cell group was statistically higher than that of the positive group.(P<0.0005). 5) The incidence of positive intraperitoneal free cancer cells increased as the stage of gastric cancer increased, but the survival rate was decreased. 6) In the noncurative resection group, the incidence of positive intraperitoneal free cancer cells was higher, but the survival rate was lower, than in the curative resection group. The 3-year survival rates were higher for the patients with curative resection and negative intraperitoneal free cancer cells than for the patients with curative resection and positive intraperitoneal free cancer cells (P<0.0009). The difference in the 3-year survival rate between the noncurative resection with positive intraperitoneal free cancer cell group and the noncurative resection with negative intraperitoneal free cancer cell group was stastistically significant. (P<0.0000). 7) For the types of recurrence, hematogenous metastasis was the most common type of recurrence in the negative intraperitoneal free cancer cell group; peritoneal metastasis was the most common type of recurrence in the positive intraperitoneal free cancer cell group. In conclusion; at the time of gastrectomy, peritoneal lavage cystology is very impotant and basic examination which can help early detection of intraperitoneal free cancer cells. Therefore, when intraperitoneal free cancer cells are negative,radical curative gastrectoy make the high survival rate of patients.